Team Seven
by brokenseraphim
Summary: "We will both die." Underneath the gray skies, Kakashi wonders, if he can take losing them all over again. No couples, just a family. Team seven in the rain.


Summary: "We will both die." Underneath the gray skies, Kakashi wonders, if he can take losing them all over again. No couples, just a family. Team seven in the rain.

Warning: Spoliers! If you haven't read up to chapter 486 of the manga yet, I suggest saving yourself the revelation and go read something else. Otherwise, welcome :D

**Team Kakashi, Team Seven**

He couldn't help it, but he'd forgotten the day Obito died. How many years since he'd seen his smiling face? How many years since he learned a lesson learnt too late? With a sigh, the details, the days, the hours, they fade into the turbulence known as time and become a withering gray before his single jet black eye. But the one thing he does remember is the feeling.

Hatake Kakashi, a brat who was blind, a brat who wallowed in the shame of his mistake, sometimes he wondered, where had that brat gone? Deep in his heart, the jounin knows, he grew up too fast. Too soon. The innocence he was given by Obito's presence is long gone, buried underneath the same boulders and rocks that crushed his tiny body.

It was an omen, Obito's death was.

He was like a countdown, a trigger. And before Kakashi could possibly realize it, he was alone all over again. Rin left the ninja world, a scarred soul from war, unable to take the pain anymore. Minato, his teacher, was dead with the burdens of the village upon his shoulders in sacrifice. And Hatake Kakashi, Kakashi of the Sharingan, was both burdened and scarred, and so very, very alive.

Then they came along.

Three little balls of light. Three little rays of hope. Haruno Sakura. Uchiha Sasuke. Uzimaki Naruto.

He lived all over again.

Sakura was an annoying little teeny bopper, fueled by her ridiculous hormones and never-ending infatuation. He remembered how she used to always be the first one to think of giving up, but was always the first to achieve anything at all. Her skills, her training, everything. She was a bright girl who only needed her eyes to be opened in order to succeed, and opened they were. A bright, pretty shade of green that sparkled with the same youth he had seen in Rin all those many years ago.

Now she's all grown up, a woman. An adult, amazing at what she does. A healer, a fighter, a role model.

Sasuke was a jerk, but a genius one. Always so refined, always so stuck-up, he truly was an Uchiha from the very marrow of his bones. He had the most talent from the get-go, perfect at everything in the most obnoxious, irking way. Kakashi remembered his scowl, the smirk, and overall, the ridiculous blue highlights in his black hair. He sometimes wondered if the Uchiha did it himself, that would explain how bad it looked.

Now he's all grown up, a man. An adult, scary at what he does. An avenger, a judge, an enemy.

Naruto was a brat, the hard-not-to-love kind. He was a rolling ball of frightening energy running off limitless Double A batteries. The kid had a quirky personality with the loud voice, never-ending humor, and that tad bit of sarcasm to top it all off in an irresistible combination that screamed "Love me!" Naruto was the personification of bravery, determination, and optimism all scrambled in one huge pot, waiting to be served to the world.

Now he's all grown up, a man. An adult, brilliant at what he does. A friend, a hero, a…martyr?

The thought hit the gray-haired man like a load of shuriken being hurled 100 km an hour straight at his gut. They're all grown up now. All grown up, and going off, full speed ahead, in the opposite direction.

Sakura and Naruto were both shaken up from their most recent encounter with Sasuke, and had the utmost right to be. Sasuke. Sasuke. _Uchiha _Sasuke.

An avenger, indeed.

The way he held his katana, the way he held the kunai to Sakura's throat—he truly had no qualms in killing her, or any of the rest of them for that matter. The look in his eyes when they came face to face-it was beyond agony, beyond pain and hatred. It made Kakashi wonder, "Could he be saved?" or better yet, "Was he worth saving?"

After all, the price…Naruto.

"_When you and I fight…we will both die."_

The words rang through his head like a relentless mantra threatening to throw off what little sanity he had left. Die. Die. Die. So much death in a span of so many little years, Kakashi, he was plagued.

He should have been the one to fight Sasuke then, he should have killed him while he had the chance. After all, wasn't it his fault? Was he not the one who boosted Sasuke into becoming the piece of scum he had hideously mutated to? Yes, yes it was. The guilt was a leech tugging at the left atrium of his weakly beating heart.

Kakashi should have taken responsibility for his mistake, should have rid himself of this monster breathing within his skeleton. So many should haves…should have, should have, should have.

He should have saved Obito.

The one eyed ninja groaned, a deep rumbling from the depths of his cringing lungs. Sighing, he let his body fold, bouncing off the springy earth as he sat before the large Konoha monument. A frown tugging his lips down, he gently placed one shaking hand on the cool marble, hoping it would give him some sort of answer.

Silence.

He laughed scornfully at himself and eyed the innumerous names scrawled out upon the shiny stone surface. Uchiha Obito…Uchiha. Uchiha Sasuke…and Naruto.

Would their names soon be here? Well Sasuke's certainly wouldn't, he supposed, after all he is the enemy. Right? The enemy. The enemy. His enemy. Their enemy. Right?

Kakashi moaned again, rubbing one gloved hand harshly into his face, as if to wipe off some grime that had been manifesting upon his masked skin. His head hurt. His heart hurt. "You're a fool, Hatake Kakashi."

"You got that right."

The jounin blinked, head snapped up in a frenzy of surprise and a tad bit of embarrassment. "Naruto?"

The blond grinned at him and plopped down next to him in a flurry of bright orange onto the dew-ridden grass and on his other side, Sakura.

Naruto, smiled, his usual dazzling smile. "You shouldn't rub your face so hard Kakashi-sensei, you'll end up pulling your face into a mass of wrinkles-dattebayo!"

The copy-nin returned the smile. "Thank you for your concern Naruto, but I'd doubt that would happen."

"You never know!" The blue-eyed ninja let out an overdramatic groan of pleasure before letting himself fall back entirely to face the sky.

Sakura let out a little chuckle at the sight and also, turned her face up towards the gray-spotted heavens. "It's nice out here, huh?" Her voice was a whisper, hard to hear, but all the while, there.

Naruto let out a hum of approval and Kakashi merely nodded in agreement.

The three bathed in a hauntingly comfortable silence for minutes, seconds on end. Soon enough, the clouds gathered, painting the once brilliant blue sky in a dark mass of deep gray. The three. On the vast field of trembling green, things felt just a bit empty—just a bit unsatisfactory. They definitely had room for at least one more.

Sakura spoke, her throat tightening as her mouth strained against the constrictions of her neck. "It's going to rain soon." It was a declaration, no doubt, no hesitation.

"Ah," Naruto muttered. "Let's stay, anyway."

Kakashi liked that idea.

The world spun, and a few more minutes passed. It began as a few droplets that slowly found their way into the earth, like a loose facet, or a drain opened by mistake. But soon enough, it grew. Soft went to harsh, gentle went to painful, just-a-bit became too much.

It was like living life all over again.

"Neh?"

Kakashi turned his soaked face to Naruto.

Even as the rain came showering down in rough pellets, Naruto's sky-blue eyes never turned away from the frighteningly gray sky. "Neh," he started all over again. "Do you think…" his voice trails off into a harsh, clenched whisper and his eyes began to narrow as raindrops drip down his cheeks, "Do you think Sasuke is looking at the same sky?"

Kakashi took a long hard look at him before turning his head towards Sakura. She, too, was still staring at the sky, raindrops dripping down her pale cheeks.

And finally, he turned up his mask-covered face towards the assaulting sky and took it all in. The pain of rain hitting his skin, the coldness of his drenched clothes, and that tiny, tiny, tiny, sense of freedom it all brought.

"Yeah. I think he is."

Kakashi felt raindrops dripping down his cheeks.

x-x-x-x-x-

It's little oneshot inspired when I finally caught up with the manga that I attempted to complete in order to chip away at my writer's block. This is the first fanfic-related story I've written in months so hopefully it came out alright, and not too awkward. Thanks for reading!


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